Lion's Den
The Lion’s Den is the headquarters of the Lions of New York, located in southern Brooklyn. History Pre-War Fort Hamilton was built shortly after the War of 1812. American revolutionaries realized the strategic value of the site during the Revolutionary War, when they fired upon British ships, but it was not until the War of 1812, when Washington D.C. was sacked by the British, that they realized how important coastal defenses were. Located in southern Brooklyn, on the Narrows, Fort Hamilton was one of many forts built to protect New York Harbor. Along with Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island, Fort Jay and Castle Williams on Governor’s Island, Fort Wood on Liberty Island, Crown Fort on Ellis Island, and Castle Clinton on Manhattan, it formed a nearly impenetrable barrier protecting the harbor. For decades, the soldiers garrisoned at protected New York Harbor. At varying points, it was home to various Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and National Guard battalions and regiments. For most of its history, soldiers at the fort had relatively unexciting postings, as New York Harbor rarely encountered threats from the Atlantic. Things picked up in the mid-21st century. In 2052 the “New Plague” prompted the first-ever national quarantine. Located on the southern tip of Brooklyn on the Atlantic Ocean, Fort Hamilton suddenly became an extremely important location as one of the primary entrances and exit points from New York into the Atlantic. The United States Army reconfigured existing administrative corps and created the Coastal Defense Corps, led by one General Joshua Levine. Fort Hamilton housed the 1st Coastal Defense Corps Division. With the motto “Protect the Pride”, the men and women of the 1st Coastal Defense Corps made sure that unauthorized vessels did not enter or leave New York Harbor. The fort gained even more importance in the winter of 2066, when Congress declared war on China. China was known for their stealth sub technology, and as a result, Fort Hamilton was equipped with the latest technology to identify and destroy such threats, including specialized terahertz radiation and infrared radar systems, anti-submarine torpedo systems, anti-submarine mortar launchers. As was the case with other monitoring stations, the systems at Fort Hamilton occasionally picked up evidence of the presence of the so-called “Chinese Ghost Fleet” but confirmed sightings were never reported. In 2077, the Great War occurred. Nuclear missiles rained down on New York City, the first strikes happening roughly around 9 AM. The source of the destruction on New York City remains a mystery, meaning it is unknown whether or not the 1st Coastal Defense Corps Division at Fort Hamilton succeeded in their mission or not. Post-War Fort Hamilton was not struck directly, but EMP and radiation waves washed over it. Being a fort designed to withstand enemy attack, while Fort Hamilton was ravaged, it was not outright destroyed. As a result, while many stationed within it were killed, not all were wiped out. General Joshua Levine was among the survivors, and as the commanding officer of the base, he had an important decision to make: follow proper protocol and protect the highly sensitive and in some cases top secret machinery and data at the base, or join the rest of the world in assessing and dealing with the catastrophe. Ultimately, he chose to stay true to his training and lock down the base, not knowing the true extent of the nuclear strikes. Ambient nuclear radiation took its toll, and the men and women stationed at the base began turning into feral ghouls. Eventually, all survivors of the Great War either died or turned. With ghouls roaming inside and the perimeter protected by still-functioning laser turrets, machine gun turrets, missile turrets, and other automated protections. For decades, the fort remained locked down, a danger wastelanders living in the area knew to avoid. Layout & Description Built of granite, concrete, and steel, the Lion’s Den is roughly trapezoidal in shape. It has one main entryway, on its northern, landward face, and three faces on the coast. The fort is three stories tall, with honeycombed cubbies originally intended for cannons. At each corner is a guard tower. Beneath the surface, the fortress has two basement levels. Located just outside the fort proper is a small dock jutting out into the Atlantic meant to accommodate a single small-to-moderate sized vessel or submarine at a time. Category:Sites Category:New York